Will switching to https affect my SEO ranking and traffic?

Edward said:

Hello, I have a site around 5000 pages indexed on Google search. I don't know or never done this in the past hence how it will happen if I change my website from http to https, will it affect my SEO ranking and traffic?
If so, how to solve this problem without losing traffic and keyword positions on SERPs?

Click to expand...

SEOPub said:

If you manage the change with proper redirects, the change should not have a negative impact on your rankings.

That being said, a lot can go wrong. Unless you really need https for your site, I would not do it.

Click to expand...

ericplotz1 said:

My answer in this thread will be helpful for you.

Redirect and make sure you setup GWT the right way.

Click to expand...

ericplotz1 said:

I actually experienced this exact same issue.

Did you verify all URLS in Webmaster tools? Meaning:

Code:

https://www.domainname.com
www.domainname.com
http://www.domainname.com

Then, in webmaster tools make sure you set the preferred domain name to the

Code:

https://www.domainname.com

Because the http: was the old domain, it is my experience that you will lose the SEO value unless you list all of the domains in WMT or redirects URLs to the new version.

I usually experience ranking bouncing around for a couple weeks after on-site optimizations, domain changes, or any other changes made to the site.

When I first started SEO, I had to learn to swallow hard and wait a coupe weeks after making changes.

Click to expand...

Edward said:

After set the preferred domain name, I should set up a permanent 301 redirect via .htaccess? how?

Click to expand...

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*) https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
</IfModule>

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.(.*)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]   
</IfModule>

Edward said:

Hello, I have a site around 5000 pages indexed on Google search. I don't know or never done this in the past hence how it will happen if I change my website from http to https, will it affect my SEO ranking and traffic?
If so, how to solve this problem without losing traffic and keyword positions on SERPs?

Click to expand...